Help & FAQ

You pay the host's hourly rate for the duration of your booking, plus a small service fee that covers payment processing and platform support. The service fee is the greater of $2.00 or 12% of the booking, so short bookings hit the $2 minimum. The exact fee is shown on the checkout screen before you pay, no surprises.

You'll always see the exact breakdown and total before confirming payment.

Hosts keep the vast majority of each booking. A platform fee is deducted to cover payment processing, platform maintenance, and customer support. The platform fee is the greater of $1.00 or 5% of the booking, so short bookings hit the $1 minimum.

You can see your exact earnings for every booking in the reservation details and your Earnings tab.

Payouts are automatic, Stripe deposits your earnings to your bank account on a daily rolling basis. After each booking, your funds go through Stripe's standard settlement period before they're available for deposit.

What you'll see in Stripe: Your balance shows incoming funds immediately. The "expected by" date in your dashboard shows exactly when each deposit will arrive. This date varies based on your account history, established accounts see shorter settlement times.

First few payouts: New accounts may see a longer initial settlement window (up to 7-14 days) while Stripe establishes your payout history. This is standard for all payment platforms and shortens automatically as your account builds history.

You can check your payout schedule anytime via Profile → Earnings → Payment Settings.

Stripe shows your total balance including funds that are still settling. The "available" balance is what's ready for deposit. The "pending" balance is money from recent transactions that hasn't completed the settlement process yet. Once settled, it moves to your available balance and gets deposited automatically.

Instant Book: Your reservation is confirmed immediately when you pay. No waiting, just book and go.

Approval Required: The host reviews your request before confirming. A temporary hold is placed on your card (not an actual charge). The host has 3 hours to approve or decline. If approved, the hold converts to an actual charge. If declined or not responded to, the hold is released.

Each host chooses which policy to use for their listing.

For Approval-type bookings, we place a temporary hold on your card for the booking amount. This is not an actual charge, it just reserves the funds. Think of it like a hotel holding your card at check-in.

If the host approves, the hold converts to a real charge. If the host declines, doesn't respond within 3 hours, or you cancel, the hold is released and the funds return to your account immediately (though your bank may take 1-3 days to reflect this).

If the host doesn't approve or decline within 3 hours, your request automatically expires. The hold on your card is released immediately and you are not charged. You'll receive a notification when this happens.

Yes. You can cancel a confirmed reservation up to 1 hour before the start time for a full refund. For pending requests (waiting for host approval), you can cancel anytime.

To cancel, go to your reservation details and tap "Cancel Reservation."

Refunds are initiated immediately when you cancel. However, it typically takes 3-5 business days for the refund to appear on your statement, depending on your bank or card issuer.

You'll see the status change from "Refund Initiated" to "Refunded" once your bank confirms the return.

Refund Initiated: We've sent the refund request to your bank. The money is on its way back but hasn't been confirmed yet.

Refunded: Your bank has confirmed the refund is complete. The funds should be back in your account.

Pending: Your booking request has been sent to the host and is waiting for approval. A hold has been placed on your card but you haven't been charged yet.

Upcoming: Your reservation is confirmed and paid. You're all set, just show up at the scheduled time.

Past: Your reservation has ended. The host's payout is being processed.

Expired: The host didn't respond to your request within 3 hours. The hold on your card has been released and you were not charged.

Cancelled: Either you or the host cancelled the reservation. If you were charged, a refund has been initiated.

Declined: The host declined your booking request. The hold on your card has been released and you were not charged.

Go to the Host tab in the app and follow the steps to create your listing. You'll need to:

• Add your parking spot details (type, address, photos, price)
• Set up payouts, just connect your bank account and accept Stripe's terms of service

Payout setup typically takes under 2 minutes, we don't ask for your SSN or photo ID upfront. Once your listing is published, guests can start booking your spot.

Most hosts are ready in under 2 minutes. You only need to connect a bank account and accept Stripe's Terms of Service, no SSN, no photo ID, and no waiting period before you can start accepting bookings.

As you earn more, Stripe will ask for additional verification (typically the last 4 of your SSN and your date of birth) to comply with U.S. tax reporting and anti-fraud laws. You'll get an email from Stripe when this is needed. You can keep accepting bookings during this window, just don't ignore the email or your payouts may be paused.

If Stripe can't verify your identity automatically (rare), you may be asked to upload a government ID photo. This is handled entirely on Stripe's side.

If you disconnect your Stripe payment account:

• All your active listings are automatically paused
• Any pending booking requests are automatically declined and holds released
• You'll receive a notification confirming the changes

You can reconnect at any time, your listings will be reactivated once your payment account is set up again.

The minimum price is $5.00 per hour. When setting your price, consider your location (downtown or event-adjacent spots can charge more), demand in your area, and nearby parking rates. You can always adjust your price later.

If you believe a charge is incorrect, please contact us at general@kotse.app with your reservation details. You can also dispute a charge directly with your bank or card issuer, and Stripe will handle the chargeback process.

First, try contacting the host directly through the in-app messaging system. If you can't resolve the issue, contact our support team at general@kotse.app and we'll help sort things out.

Yes. All payment processing is handled by Stripe, a PCI Level 1 certified payment processor (the highest level of security certification). Kotse never stores, sees, or has access to your full card number. Your payment details go directly to Stripe's secure servers.

Kotse sends notifications through three channels, in-app (always on), push, and email, for:

• Booking updates: Confirmations, approvals, declines, expirations
• Reminders: Day-before reservation reminders
• Payments: Refund updates, payout confirmations
• Messages: New messages from hosts or guests
• Host alerts: New booking requests, cancellations

Every notification is also recorded in the in-app Notifications center (accessible from your Profile). You can turn off push and email categories independently under Profile → Notification Preferences, and adjust system-level push permissions in your device Settings under Kotse.

Kotse supports three sign-in methods:

• Apple, native Sign in with Apple
• Google, native Google Sign-In
• Email, passwordless; we send an 8-digit code to your email that you paste into the app

If you've signed in with more than one method using the same email address, Kotse links them automatically to a single account.

You must be 18 or older to create an account or use Kotse. See our Terms of Service for full eligibility details.

Kotse is available in the United States on iOS and Android:

• iOS: Download on the App Store
• Android: Get it on Google Play

We're expanding, keep an eye on our updates.

Go to Profile → Delete Account and confirm by entering your email. Your account is marked deleted immediately: your profile disappears from search, future bookings are blocked, and active reservations are cancelled and refunded where applicable.

We retain some data after deletion when the law requires it (for example, transaction records for tax and accounting, and records tied to open disputes). See our Privacy Policy for retention details. Email general@kotse.app if you need help.

Kotse requests "When In Use" location only, we never track your location in the background. Your device GPS is used to sort listings by distance and center the map. We don't store your raw location alongside your identity.

For privacy and security, the exact street address and precise map pin are only shown once your reservation is confirmed. Before that, you see an approximate area on the map and enough detail to decide whether the spot works for you. This keeps host addresses from being harvested through shared listing links.

Your license plate is shared with the specific host for the duration of your booking so they can identify your vehicle on their property. It is never shown to other users or published publicly.

In-app messages are private to you and the other person on the reservation. Kotse does not surface your conversations to other users, and we only access message content when required to investigate a report, resolve a dispute, or comply with a legal request.

Tap the Report button on any spot listing or user profile. Pick a category (spam, inappropriate, harassment, fraud, or other) and add a short note. We review every report. For urgent concerns, email general@kotse.app.

Open the other person's profile and tap Block. Blocks hide that user's listings, messages, and activity from you, and prevent new bookings or messages in either direction. Manage your block list in Profile → Blocked Users.

First, message the host through the in-app chat, most issues clear up quickly. If you can't reach the host or the spot genuinely isn't usable, cancel the reservation and email general@kotse.app with the reservation ID; we'll help with a refund where appropriate.